Bij Kees

Some food just makes you happy, like the food at restaurant Bij Kees (at Kees’). There’s no menu, just a daily three-course meal made up of small dishes from across a number of cuisines. The waitress described it as ‘fusion tapas’, an apt description except that the portion size is more Dutch farmer than Spanish bar fly.

The starter was devilled eggs – one of the first dishes I learned to make when I was a kid from a faded 1970s cook book, but haven’t seen in a restaurant for years – stuffed with spinach and trout mousse.

It was nice to see that devilled eggs haven’t become completely obsolete and Kees’ were definitely fancier than my childish efforts re-stuffed with their own yolks.

Also part of the starter were individual timbales of sliced potato topped with cold, roasted vegetables and an Asian-style salad of beansprouts and rosé roast duck, dressed in a nutty sesame oil dressing.

The main course was another eclectic mix: tagliatelle tossed in melted butter, slices of beef in a thick gravy, chunks of turbot with lemon, and more Asian influences in the form of wok vegetables and prawns in a sweet chilli sauce. We served ourselves from the communal bowls brought to the table by the tattooed chef.

Each dish with well-seasoned and flavoursome individually, particularly the spicy prawns, but they were an odd combination together.

Dessert was cheesecake with a rich chocolate biscuit base. It wasn't really necessary after the gustatory onslaught of the previous two courses and, at €24.50, the meal would still have been good value without it.

There’s a high kitsch factor at Bij Kees. The subdued lighting barely illuminates the flowers on the velour wallpaper, the collection of what look like flea market finds on the wall and mismatched crockery.

The restaurant’s tagline is 'drink, food and drink'. This would suggest a disproportionate amount of alcohol is involved in an evening at Bij Kees. Owner Kees, a former Fabulous Shaker Boy, says he wanted to emphasise the fact that punters can have a drink with their food – we chose a chilled German red wine, which is hard to come by even in Amsterdam restaurants with an extensive wine list – but also that there is a separate bar area just for beer, wine and, on request, cocktails.

There’s nothing ‘haute’ about the cuisine at Bij Kees, but it’s tasty, homely and leaves you with a contented feeling that goes beyond a full stomach.